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Springfield Contemporary Theatre Presents "Good People"

(Poster design courtesy Springfield Contemporary Theatre)

Springfield Contemporary Theatre will present the Springfield-area premiere of David Lindsay-Abaire's "Good People" opening this weekend and running through Sept. 24 at SCT Center Stage in Wilhoit Plaza, corner of Robberson and Pershing downtown.  It's a co-production with Resident Artist Ensemble, directed by Melanie Dreyer-Lude.

Equity Actor Sarah Wiggin calls "Good People" "a kind of homage to (playwright David Lindsay-Abaire's) upbringing in "Southie," a south Boston neighborhood  which, says Wiggin, is very much a working class area. While it has been "changing over time, it's an ethnically diverse neighborhood.  What David Lindsay-Adaire is focusing on, primarily because of  his own upbringing, is the Irish-Catholic community of South Boston and the struggles of that particular community.  It is traditionally a rather impoverished community, and so they've struggled over time and generations to pull themselves up and out.  And they've had varying degrees of success."

Margie Walsh certainly hasn't had much success. When the curtain rises we witness Margie getting fired from yet another job.  Says Sarah Wiggin, who plays Margie, "she has trouble holding down jobs... primarily, she takes care of an adult special-needs daughter."

Director Melanie Dreyer-Lude picks up the narrative.  Facing eviction and badly in need of employment, "Margie learns that an old high school classmate has returned to town.  And he has become a doctor. Margie goes to visit him to see if he has a job for her.  And we begin to see what happens when two people from the same place take very different paths in life. What choices do we make? Are we really 'good people' (which is where the title comes from)?"

Dreyer-Lude says she and Sarah Wiggin, colleagues on the Missouri State University Theatre and Dance faculty, "both love the play, and I had been wanting to direct it.  We both thought at some point about playing the role of Margie.  Someone had come to me and said, 'you would be great in that!' And I thought, well... why don't I direct it and we can get Sarah to star in it.  And we've talked about it for about a year. SCT has been very generous, and they're really terrific collaborators."

The cast, in addition to Sarah Wiggin, also includes Julie Bloodworth, Andie Bottrell, Christina Gardner, Michael Watterson, and Equity actor David Schmittou.  The play contains adult language.  Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:00pm Sept.8-24.  Tickets range from $10-$22.  For information call 831-8001 or visit www.springfieldcontemporarytheatre.org.

Randy Stewart joined the full-time KSMU staff in June 1978 after working part-time as a student announcer/producer for two years. His job has evolved from Music Director in the early days to encompassing production of a wide range of arts-related programming and features for KSMU, including the online and Friday morning Arts News. Stewart assists volunteer producers John Darkhorse (Route 66 Blues Express), Lee Worman (The Gold Ring), and Emily Higgins (The Mulberry Tree) with the production of their programs. He's also become the de facto "Voice of KSMU" in recent years due to the many hours per day he’s heard doing local station breaks. Stewart’s record of service on behalf of the Springfield arts community earned him the Springfield Regional Arts Council's Ozzie Award in 2006.